cloud

If you use Dropbox to collaborate a workflow, you’ve probably been left scratching your head now and then. What is your colleague event talking about? Is this the right document for the project they were discussing in the meeting? Typically, that left you firing off emails or tracking them down via chat or stalking their cubicle. Now, you won’t have to be that person. Dropbox is opening up commenting within documents for all, which lets you discuss what’s going on with a particular document or project, all without ever leaving Dropbox.

Dropbox and Microsoft are ramping up their collaboration, building on last year's efforts to bake the cloud into Office on mobile devices with support for the web, too. The new feature means that while working with Office Online, it's possible to access a Dropbox account directly, opening existing documents or saving new ones there. Conversely, if you're logged into Dropbox, it's now even more straightforward to preview a document within the browser.

Google is upgrading Chrome OS to better suit touchscreens and convertibles, as well as throwing open the doors to Android developers wanting their apps to run on Chromebooks. The new version, Chrome OS v.42, is currently in beta, with the most noticeable change being a revamped launcher that integrates Google Now. Promising faster access not only to your most frequently-used apps courtesy of a new shortcut row, the new launcher also includes all the same proactive prompts that you can get on Android phones and Android Wear smartwatches. That's not the only sign of the gap narrowing between Android and Chrome OS, however.

Many of us have photos and video spread all over the web and across devices. Depending on how you’ve got your cloud storage set up, it’s not likely you've got all your media in one centralized location. Today, Google is taking steps to solve that for us. In Drive, you’ll soon see a new “Google Photos” menu option, which brings all your photo and video storage to a more convenient location. This move was rumored earlier this month, though it’s not exactly what sources claimed Google may end up doing.

This week we've seen Facebook launch their first big Internet of Things initiative with Parse. The Parse IoT for innovative smart home platform and Facebook selected several key groups to work with for launch, one of which was Roost, who saw an opportunity in the Parse cloud infrastructure to provide for the Roost Smart Battery. This battery - connected with its own mobile app - connect battery power and Wi-Fi in a simple 9V package. We spoke briefly with Roost CEO Roel Peeters on why Parse was the platform to go with for this particular launch.

With Amazon making a big splash today in announcing unlimited cloud storage at a really low monthly (or yearly) price point, many are starting to take a look at what that might mean for them. Do you really need unlimited storage? Is the backup worth it in the long run? Rather than leave you hanging, we thought it best to take a look at what other options are around, and what that might mean for you. Turns out, Amazon has a place, but it might not be for you.

Here’s the thing about cloud storage: you have to pre-determine how much storage you want. Sure, you can upgrade or downgrade, but sometimes not at the drop of a hat. Also, our needs change. One day you might be fine with 100GB of cloud storage, but that upcoming trip may see you needing a lot of room for your photos and videos. Rather than juggle different storage options, Amazon is just giving you unlimited storage. Starting today, Amazon will have two tiers of cloud storage, both offering unlimited upload.

Today, Microsoft is announcing Azure App Service, which brings together a few of their Azure services under one umbrella offering. Now, Azure Websites, Azure Mobile Services, and Azure BizTalk Services will simply be known as Azure App Service, with one central location in the cloud. The aim is to make using Azure easier for Developers, who can now look to one central spot for all their deployment needs. It also satisfies Microsoft’s ‘write once and deploy everywhere’ goal of late.

Cloud storage is the current step we’re taking when it comes to managing our files. We also look to cloud storage to keep our pictures and videos safe, too. With all the security mishaps of late, keeping your info locked away on someone else’s hardware might be concerning. If that sounds like you, Seagate has a solution. Their Personal Cloud offers similar cloud-based features as your existing provider, except it’s all yours. Does it perform as well as it’s billed, though? We find out.

Despite what naysayers have been saying, it seems that the next gaming revolution might indeed be cloud gaming services. Or gaming rentals, if you like. But while that market is occupied by giants as early as now, with Sony's PlayStation Now and NVIDIA's GRID vying for gamer loyalty and money, Silicon Valley startup Utomik is daring to compete head on. And it just might be able to do so, depending on how well it is able to deliver its promise of an almost "instant play", lag-free cloud gaming session.